#9: Go to Jean Talon market

Jean Talon market is a ginormous farmers' market full of fresh produce, local farm products, and everything else a farmers' market holds. I've always wanted to go because frankly the fruits and veggies section of my grocery store is just appalling. The produce isn't very fresh, it's pale, and it's not the most flavorful.

I ended up buying enough fruits/veggies to last me the entire week, but really everything looked so delicious and fresh, I could have bought for a month.

I took literally one picture because I was just too busy tasting and looking at everything. But seriously. This is unreal:

SO MANY TOMATOES. SO COLORFUL.

Basically one you go to Jean Talon, you become this huge fruit/veggie snob because lesbihonest, nothing else will do.

#13: Go to La Banquise

While I've been at McGill for what feels like an entire millennium, I've missed one important university student ritual. The post-wild night out 3AM poutine.

I tried. I orchestrated, I made all these plans to try to make it to the wee hours of the night fully awake. And time and time again, my plans failed. Never made it that late.

Then, last night happened.

My summer bromance, Ashley, and I planned to go to Chez Mado (a very famous drag queen joint) to catch a show. But we met up too late and missed the 11PM show.

But guys........ there's a 1AM show. And WE. MADE. IT.

The show was amazing, flawless costumes, more makeup than I'll ever wear in my life, and about ten tearaway costumes. Also there was a number with the song "Call Me Maybe" so how could I not love this?

Now by the time the show ended, it was about 2:30AM. And we were hungry. So we headed to La Banquise, the ultimate poutine joint in Montreal, open 24hrs a day.

This is the picture of the bacon poutine Ash and I enjoyed (more than any poutine EVER in our lives) at 3AM after a fantastically wild night out.

Having now lived this experience, I understand why it's a student life staple.

#35: Go on a roadtrip

So I've been cooped up in Montreal for three school years and two summers now, my only escapes being going home for a few days during summer and Christmastime. Depressing! So OBVI when I made my bucket list, I was positively planning to escape to a new location for a bit. And a few weeks ago, I totally did.

One of the best friends I made at McGill (but have known for the shortest time?), Mackie, lives in Maine and I decided that since I hadn't seen her since February and Maine is decently close, I obviously needed to head there and see her. I rented a car, took a (paid) day off from work (the only one I got this summer), drove six hours to Kennebunk, Maine ALL ALONE, and made it alive. Which totally impressed my mother more than anything I've ever done in my life.

ANYWAYS. I had the best time, it was that amazing mix of big serious talks and ditzy girl talk, outlet shopping, tv watching, and Maine-exploring. Flawless.

So because I have no pictures and no desire to recount my trip by the hour, let's do a top ten things you should just know about it:

1. There was a lot of screaming lyrics to songs to stay awake during the drive.

2. I envisioned my "Maine lifestyle" the same way I envision lifestyles I could have when I go to J.Crew or Anthro or home. My Maine lifestyle: living in a big big house with a white picket fence, taking my dog to the beach for a run/walk, cooking lobster every week, and doing some antique shopping in tiny shops on the weekends with my boyfriend who is not afraid of wearing pink sweaters.

3. We made a fire in the drizzling rain. And stayed outside in the drizzling rain, by our fire. Making s'mores.

4. My friend choked on water (we're equally gifted with poise and grace) and I had the fleeting thought of OMG I CAN'T REMEMBER HEIMLICH!

5. We watched the Olympics and I referred to the U.S. as "our team."

6. I want to be American. I can't explain it, but every time I go I feel understood. Accepted. It's the mothership.

7. I listened to 2 hours of Dalilah giving love advice to weird people on the radio. And dedicating truly horrible songs to them. Shoutout to the girl who "had a baby with my best friend, but we're just friends, but he doesn't know that I want more, and he's coming to visit his baby this weekend, because he doesn't actually live in the same town as me, and it's complicated, and I love our friendship." ...say what now?

8. I did some flawless driving for all 13 hours of my trip. My only problem? When I got back to Hertz to return the car, there was no space to park, so I just stuck it in this little weird area with about one centimeter for the door to open. You're welcome, man who had to get in and park it elsewhere.

9. Somewhere in New Hampshire, this guy asked me if I spoke French because my pants said McGill on them. But it was late and I was tired and I said no. Then I realized but I was too lazy to correct. Clearly already in the American mindset, I am denying my French Canadian ties.

10. My friend and I bought the exact same shoes. And I secretly hope we wear them together one day, even though that is super tacky.

So all this to say I had a blast. And Mackie, if you see this, thank you for a fantastic weekend. I'm usually decent with my words, but I don't think anything in my vocabulary can begin to cover how great a time I had. Until next year in San Fran!

#33: Attend the Jazz Festival / #37: See a "Just pour rire" gala

Well this post is much delayed! Much much. I've just been too busy enjoying my summer! I feel bad... but I don't.

Anyways.

Montreal is absolutely lovely in the summer, it's one festival after another. First there was the Francopholies, a French music festival, then Jazz Fest, and finally Just for Laughs (which is still going on). Jazz Fest is a hugeee deal, everyone who's anyone in the jazz industry had graced the festival over the years. So of course I had to go. But it was... weird. I didn't hear any jazz music. And I went three times.

Then there's Just for Laughs (or Juste pour rire, in French). Almost every year since pretty much I can remember, my family rents the "galas" on pay-per-view. The galas are events that occur during the festival, it's basically one show with a ton of French Canadian comedians. Anyways this year, I convinced my mom we should attend, and we made it to three galas! It was amazing to live out what I see on tv every year. Also not gonna lie, I totally worked my laughing face, in hopes that I'll make it into the pay-per-view version (which shows audience members laughing once in a while). I would do that.

Mastering the Art of (Actually) Breaking Up

I sometimes like to start a post by defining a word, usually the focus of the piece. Then I launch into a rant and the likes. But today, when I looked up "breakup" on Wikipedia, the explanation stunned me a little (to say the least) and distracted me from my main topic. Here's why:

"A relationship breakup, often referred to simply as a breakup, is the termination of a usually intimate relationship by any means other than death."

Ummmmmm. Why is DEATH in this sentence? I'm not sure this is exactly how I'd define a breakup, but we'll go with it. Thanks for the harsh words, Wikipedia.

So breakups.
I totally lack the finesse required to execute a clean breakup. Mine are messy, sad, and dramatic. Yet somehow, most of them have ended up being non-binding. Not final. Just a prequel to the sequel.

When I was younger, I was under the impression that breaking up meant the end. Cut the cord, adios, see you never. Then I got older and started understanding the cliche, "It's complicated." I've seen that couple totally in love break up, but keep talking and texting as if it was still on. I've seen the post-breakup hookup. There's the whole "I still love you" move, or the early breakup deemed a mistake so the couple's back together.

In the words of My Sassy Gay Friend... WHAT ARE YOU DOING? What. What. WHAT are you doing?

I think it's a mistake a lot of us make, going back for seconds (or thirds in some cases). And it's understandable, there's this little thing called feelings involved, and they're a tad hard to get rid of without massive help from our friends Ben and Jerry. But still. After a few experiences of the like, I'm trying to now remind myself that my man of the moment and I broke up for a reason. And that reason would still be valid if we got back together. So maybe it would be blissful for a few weeks, months even, but eventually it always pops back up.

Anyways. My point here is not to help women around the world figure out their post-breakup feelings, it's to figure out how to make a clean break. A definitive break. I've tried a few things, but none of them really deter my gentlemen callers. Why is it that I yell and they run back (besides the memory of my stellar personality and good looks)?

I thought and thought and thought and I think it clicked for me. Closure. If it wasn't 100% clear why it was over, even though it was well understood, if we don't word it veryyyyy clearly (men aren't so good at deciphering implications), it's not really done. It leaves feelings of sadness, sometimes guilt, and so on.

Next time I have to orchestrate a breakup, I'm gonna make sure to have a nice two-way conversation, reallllllllly clarifying why this is happening, to shut down any chance of round 2.

After the messy, dramatic stuff of course.

#16: Visit St. Joseph Oratory

Yesterday was part 2 of tourists in Montreal with my dear friend SW. I need to preface this by saying that we had a hugeeee (but delicious) breakfast and for some reason didn't manage to shake off the sleepiness that ensued for the rest of the day. Between that and the fact that the Oratory is the biggest, most confusing church I've ever seen (and I've seen my fair share of churches in Italy so that's saying A LOT), we kinda died.

St. Joseph Oratory is nicely nested on Mount Royal and apparently has healing powers. Inside the church, in the COOLEST chapel I've ever seen (candles wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling), there are giant stands filled with crutches, canes, and the likes. According to what my mom told me, people would come to the Oratory for a pilgrimage and during/after, would find themselves healed. They left behind their walking helps. Seeing them all like this together makes for kind of an awe-inspiring moment.

One of four of the stands with crutches/canes/etc. in the Chapel of Votives

Now aside from the chapel, there is of course the Basilica at the very top. Lots of stairs. Looooots of stairs. But the view is amazing (and I imagine even more amazing by night) and the Basilica is breathtaking. The ceilings are so high, you feel like a tiny speck of dust. It's very bare, plain, yet so impressive. Complete opposite of Notre Dame, which was decked out to the nines, without one tiny piece of wall left unadorned. But St. Joseph has its charms. So much in fact that I found out it's used as the picture representing Montreal in the "around the world" version of Monopoly.

Like I said. LOTS OF STAIRS to the top. But so worth it.

#36: Hang out at Jean-Drapeau park

One of Montreal's best kept secrets, in my opinion, is Parc Jean-Drapeau. The park is comprised of two islands, where you can find an aquatic park, a beach, La Ronde (kind of like a Six Flags), the Montreal Casino (originally built for the Montreal Summer Olympics), the Biosphere (not to be confused with the Biodome), and tons of grassy areas. It's also the location of Piknik Electronik, a chill Sunday afternoon event that runs all summer long, where you can listen to a couple DJs, enjoy the outdoors, and have a beer with friends.

I had planned to stay for only a few hours, but ended up having such a nice afternoon that we extended our stay by an hour or two. Oops?

Given the heat we've had lately, I plan to go back and check out the beach soon too!

In front of the Biosphere

Piknik (it got way more crowded within the hour)

They were celebrating their ten year anniversary or something by asking people to wear these and say how long they'd been coming. I wrote, "today".

Grumman's is a local food truck that's made it onto all the big foodie shows for its famous tacos. When they show up to an event with their yellow truck, it sells out within hours. I made it before that!